The High Court in London will today open hearings in the trial between Qatar and Airbus, in which billions of dollars are at stake due to problems with the A350.
During the hearing, the airline will seek the extension of an injunction to prevent the manufacturer from terminating the contract for fifty A321neo. Airbus took this decision in retaliation for Qatar’s refusal to take delivery of the A350s. According to the European giant, the rupture in relations is so deep that it has the ingredients of “a corporate divorce”. This week, it even decided not to deliver an A350 to the airline, citing that the refusal to take delivery “entitled it to terminate the contract” and place the aircraft with another customer.
Qatar has 23 of its A350s on the ground due to concerns about the model’s airworthiness due to paint degradation. The airline will also not accept any more deliveries until there is a solution to the problem.
The manufacturer, for its part, has acknowledged that there are certain “quality issues” on some aircraft of the type but insists that these are within safety tolerances. It also noted that EASA has repeatedly said that the model is airworthy, and pointed out that other airlines continue to operate them.
Some senior airline executives operating the A350 –to whom Reuters had access– said they “do not share Qatar’s concerns” about the A350’s airworthiness. However, they expressed alarm at the scale of the dispute. “It is not good for the industry. Both should put the courts aside and come to an agreement,” said the CEO of an Airbus customer, who asked not to be identified.
See more: The Head of IATA called the Qatar-Airbus dispute “worrisome.”
To decide on the injunction, the court will have to analyze how true Qatar’s arguments are that the A321neo is a “one-of-a-kind” aircraft. Airbus CCO Christian Scherer had said last year that the A321neo had “unmatched capabilities and operating economics.” However, in its submissions within the trial, Airbus said the airline could replace the A321neos with the Boeing 737 MAX, which it ordered in December.
Qatar Airways, on the other hand, revealed details – which are normally jealously guarded until presented to the press – of plans for its A321neo. Among other things, it showed that it planned to incorporate lavatories similar to those onboard the A380.
